Office of the Historian

740.00119 EAC/12–144: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State

London, December 1, 1944—6 p.m.
[Received 8:02 p.m.]

10609. Comea 132. Embassy’s 9851, November 11, 8 p.m. At last night’s meeting of the European Advisory Commission, the British representative urged the Commission to take the American draft proclamations and draft general orders83 as a basis for discussion of the additional requirements to be imposed on Germany instead of pressing for discussion of his own drafts. Gousev and Massigli [Page 414] reported that their delegations are studying the United States drafts and seemed inclined to base its discussion on them.

Strang also told me that his delegation is enthusiastic about the United States draft directives of which twelve have been circulated in the EAC to date and it is likely that the Commission will use many of the United States directives as a basis for discussion. At last night’s EAC meeting, Strang and Gousev again emphasized the necessity for the EAC to work out directives on a wide range of policy towards Germany in order to provide the nucleus control groups for Germany with an agreed foundation of policy as a basis for their planning and implementation.

It is probable that consideration of proclamations, general order and directives will now be speeded up by assigning this work to subcommittee of the EAC. It is also possible that some directives will be considered concurrently with the relevant sections of the general order.

British, Soviet and French Delegations are also pressing for the setting up of a subcommittee of the EAC to consider the United Kingdom draft special order on treatment of United Nations prisoners of war in Germany (Embassy’s despatch 18825 of October 25).85 We have not received comments on the revised United States draft directive on this subject which was transmitted by Embassy’s despatch 18790 of October 23.85 Comments on the British draft special order and the United States draft directive are now urgently needed (Embassy’s 9134, October 24, 7 p.m., Comea 116),86 Intensive negotiation on this question will begin on December 6.

Winant
  1. The United States draft proclamations and general orders for Germany were circulated in the European Advisory Commission by the Acting United States Representative (Mosely) as E.A.C. (44) 27, November 14, 1944, copies of which were transmitted to the Department by the Ambassador in the United Kingdom in his despatch 19456, November 24, not printed.↩
  2. Not printed.↩
  3. Not printed.↩
  4. Not printed; it requested that action on a new directive regarding prisoners of war be expedited by the Department (740.00119 EAC/10–2444).↩